HS TENNIS: MHS’ Daugherty, Stewart roll to state tournament

From staff reports

Updated 10:49 pm, Wednesday, April 19, 2017

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Allison Stewart and Kate Daugherty pose with their gold medals after winning the Region I-6A girls doubles championship to qualify for the state tennis tournament, Wednesday in Arlington. (Courtesy photo)

Allison Stewart and Kate Daugherty pose with their gold medals after winning the Region I-6A girls doubles championship to qualify for the state tennis tournament, Wednesday in Arlington. (Courtesy photo)

HS TENNIS: MHS’ Daugherty, Stewart roll to state tournament

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ARLINGTON -- The Midland High girls doubles team of Kate Daugherty and Allison Stewart were on a mission Tuesday and Wednesday to reach the UIL Class 6A State Tennis Tournament.

Daugherty and Stewart weren’t going to let any team stand in their way and that was reflected in their dominant performance at Region I-6A Tennis Tournament at UT-Arlington Tennis Center.

On Wednesday morning, Daugherty and Stewart secured a Region I-6A championship and their first state tournament berth by defeating Fort Worth Paschal’s Shauna Galvin and Emily Buell, 6-2, 6-0, in the girls doubles final.

Stewart and Daugherty rolled through their regional competition to the tune of a 48-2 mark in games won over four matches, becoming the first Midland High state qualifiers since boys doubles team Jonathan Webb and Marcos Valdez were state runners-up in 2003. Daugherty and Stewart will compete for a state title, May 18-19 in College Station.

“We walked into this tournament and we told each other, ‘We’re going to try to win every point we can, that’s our goal,’” said Stewart, a junior. “And (Tuesday), we didn’t lose a game. We just walked out with such confidence.”

Stewart and Daugherty had just missed out on state tournament invitations in two previous attempts, finishing fourth in the 2015 regional tournament and third at the 2016 tournament after falling in the championship match.

With Daugherty being a senior, Wednesday was the last opportunity for the pair to reach the elusive state tournament.

“I would say the third time is the charm,” Stewart said. “It took three years, but yes, Kate and I are ecstatic. We’re so excited to get the experience at state and we’re just glad all the work that we put into it paid off.”

Daugherty was actually making her fourth regional appearance, as she competed as a girls singles player during her freshman year.

Daugherty said experience and confidence worked to the pair’s advantage.

The No. 4-seeded Paschal doubles team was one of the few regional tournament pairs the MHS girls hadn’t played this season, but the No. 1 seeded Lady Bulldogs pair weren’t fazed by the challenge.

Paschal’s Galvin was a previous state tournament qualifier as a girls singles player.

“We weren’t really nervous,” Daugherty said. “We didn’t have any nerves when the match was played. We played one of the girls before in a (UTSA) super champs tournament and so we knew what she played like. I think Allison and I just had in our heads that we weren’t going to lose. We weren’t going to give it to them.”

Stewart and Daugherty will take an astounding 42-0 season record into the state tournament.

Stewart and Daugherty said Wednesday’s regional championship was a big weight lifted off their shoulders.

“As soon as we won that match, I just kind of exhaled and breathed,” Daugherty said. “I said to myself, ‘This is our time, this our chance. This is a long time in the making and we finally got it.’”